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of many of the problems of State and local government,

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and I will allow those people who will speak to the issue

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to discuss it more fully. I will discuss the proposal

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itself.

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It is clear that the public has no common-law

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right to attend meetings of government bodies, whereas there

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is a common-law right that published records be open. In

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the 17th and 18th Century in England, publication of

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parliamentary debates was frequently visited wit hharsh

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punishment.

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The motive for secrecy originally lay in

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protection from the Crown. Beginning in the late 18th

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century publication of debates was tolerated, but reporters

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had no privilege to attend and could be excluded upon the

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request of a single Member.

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Since 1874 a majority vote has been required to

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exclude the public, and Parliament has increasingly encouraged

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dissemination of information about its proceedings in an

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effort to exert greater influence on the people and to

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enlarge their role in the process of enacting or rejecting

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legislation. In the United States, the House of